Temps boil after new case/psu "upgrade"

[beatle]

I recently replaced my aging InWin Q500 w/original PSU fan replaced w/panaflo l1a. I went the stylish route and picked up a Nikao X-Jazz and an Antec Truepower 330. I'm planning on turning the Q500 into a file server someday, so the X-Jazz won't be as full as my Q500. Setup is as follows:

Abit KT7a-RAID
Tbird 1.1 w/Alpha 8045, AS3, Panaflo M1A blowing DOWN
512 megs PC133
GF2 GTS
SBlive 5.1
3com nic
pci matrox millenium II 8 meg
usb card (mb ports are now dead)
40 gig 60gxp
60 gig 5400 rpm wd
Plextor 24/10/40
LiteOn 166S

My Q500 wasn't stock, as I had cut holes for 2 80mm L1As directly over the CPU. This allowed my to turn my tbird to 1333 @ 1.85v all day with no problems. Temps ranged from 42 to 52C, completely bulletproof. I also had an additional L1A at the top of the case, above the PSU.

Temps are up... way up. I've had to clock back my cpu to default clock and voltage to maintain sane temperatures. Currently idling @ 52-54C depending on ambient temp. The X-Jazz is MUCH more cramped... more than I bargained for. My PSU's fan grill touches the 8045, making getting the mb itself in the case a chore. I've tried blowing the cpu fan OUT as the hs is designed for, in addition to an exhaust L1A at the back. The case doesn't facilitate much cooling in addition to this without cutting holes. I have since reinstalled my 8045 and tried blowing down as well as up... not much changes. I currently have my setup as my M1A as an intake from the back of the case and NO FAN on my cpu. Temps are actually the same as when I had the M1A on top of the cpu.

Now, do I... cut hole(s) to facilite better intake over the CPU, ditch the CPU for something that runs cooler (XP 1600+?) or go back to my Q500 (I really don't want to do this.) I also do not want a louder fan. The big question is... WHY THE GIANT LEAP IN TEMPS?!

 

[mechBgon]

The blowhole fans keep the temperature of the air going into your heatsink near room temperature, for starters. The fans on the TruePower power supplies are very quiet and don't move much air, so you have less exhaust there, and you now have only one 80mm auxiliary exhaust instead of two. If you want to improve the ventilation, one good place to start would be to cut away any metal grillework over the exhaust fan and use a chromed wire grille for low restriction... kind of like boosting the diameter of your car's exhaust components to reduce backpressure.

Also keep this in mind: on your board, the temperature reading is coming from a thermistor beneath the CPU. Without a pair of 80mm fans blowing air under the edge of the CPU socket (there's an air gap between socket and board), the thermistor's air pocket under the CPU is going to be much more stagnant and therefore hotter.

 

[beatle]

Can the 2 fans in the Truepower move less air than the L1A in my old PSU? I should have mentioned that I'd already cut the grille work away from the rear of the case and replaced it with a wire grille. I do not have ANY auxiliary fans in this case as it is running now. What would be an exhaust is now an intake (M1A.)

 

[mechBgon]

That explains even more. You had dual aux. 80mm exhaust (plus an L1A in the PSU) plus two intake blowholes aimed at the CPU, and now you have no blowholes, no auxiliary exhaust, and the quiet TP PSU.

On the bright side, I bet just putting your M1A in the rear position as an exhaust fan would make a measurable improvement in the CPU temperature. You want good air velocity in the vincinity of the CPU, so it can't keep recirculating its own heated exhaust.

An L1A at full voltage moves a fairly forceful stream of air, at least for its noise level. The amount of air coming out the back of my own TruePower PSUs is pretty low, so I'd guess the exhaust capability of your previous L1A-equipped PSU was higher (the bottom fan on the TruePower doesn't blow all its air out the rear, some is recirculated back into the case).

 

[beatle]

Ok, I'll try flipping the M1A, however that will leave me with no intake unless I cut. How about replacing the rear fan of the 330 with an L1A? I know the PSUs fan don't run at full voltage unless things get hot... however they always seem to be blowing the same rpm = 1300-1400.

 

[mechBgon]

Well, what goes in must come out, so whether your M1A blows in at the front, or out at the rear, it's moving the air. The benefit of putting it in the rear is that it concentrates the air movement near the CPU. AMD goes so far as to make a big deal of this in their system-building guidelines. Hope it shows some improvement for you

 

[beatle]

Thanks. I don't anticipate much of a difference, but we will see tomorrow when I make the switch. I wonder just how "off" the thermistor under the cpu is.

 

[beatle]

My comp apparently crashed overnight. I had a BSOD waiting for me when I came in... "A device driver has corrupted the executive memory pool" -ntosker1.exe. Not healthy. I flipped the M1A so it is now exhausting air. CPU temps are already higher than they were, but case temps are right around 81F, instead of 95+. Am I going to have to take the knife to this case as well to get this cpu to behave? I never remember having to do this on my old case, even before I cut into it. Temps were NEVER this high and all I had was the stock PSU fan exhausting heat. Could there be something else wrong that escalates the temps?

 

[mechBgon]

I see I misunderstood a couple of points:

1) you have had the M1A in the rear all along, it was blowing in but is now blowing out.
2) you have "NO FAN on the CPU". What size straitjacket do you wear...? Even the mighty PAL8045 needs a fan, sir.

 

[beatle]

My configuration has changed several times... let me summarize.

1) M1A on CPU blowing out, L1A on case blowing out.
2) M1A on CPU blowing in, L1A on case blowing in.
3) No fan on CPU, M1A on case blowing in.
4) No fan on CPU, M1A on case blowing out.

I took the fan off the 8045 because it was blocking a large portion of the 92mm fan in the PSU, thinking that more hot air could be exhausted from the case if the PSU could do its job better, besides the 8045 was meant to be sucked from (can't word that any better. ) I am contemplating putting an L1A on top of the CPU again... should it suck or blow? Case temps are now only 8 degrees above ambient, which I'm happy with.

 

[mechBgon]

The L1A will keep the PAL8045 nice and cool blowing either direction. Alpha says it should suck air off the top for maximum performance, but there are some setups (like your old one) where that would result in it fighting against other fans, so you be the judge.

 

[beatle]

Wow, what a difference a fan makes! This is almost identical to my original setup, however the M1A is the exhaust and the L1A is on the CPU blowing out. The PSU fan grille is also off. With the original setup I was cooking right along at 52-55C at idle w/default voltage default clock of 1100. I'm back to my old tricks... 1.85v, 1333, idle @ 47-48C. Thanks for your help, mech.

 

[mechBgon]